There are more options than ever when it comes to choosing a technology stack for your project. However, the easiest way to decide is by looking into what companies that have already succeeded use to build their products. For example, this article explains why Namely has used React for their enterprise product and covers there benefits of using it in depth.

The appearance of React™ changed the process of creating user interfaces significantly through built-in libraries that allow you to create complex user interface interactions from small code known as components. Each component can contain its distinctive style and functionality all without refactoring the rest of the development codebase because it’s created using JavaScript™ making developing highly reactive UIs easier than ever before!

The history of React is a long and exciting one, beginning in 2011 when Facebook officials realized they needed a solution to the complicated code that was being used for the Facebook Ads app. A new JavaScript library was what they needed! As rapid growth ensued, so did an urgent need for updates to the growing application. This is how JSX modules came to be!

Today, "React" technology is on the rise. With more than 146,000 followers and more than 1,365 contributors on GitHub.

Benefits of using React

There are more than 1.5 million websites that use React, and this number is increasing as time goes on. The reasons for its popularity has a lot to do with the benefits of React:

#1 Clarity and simplicity

Unlike Angular.js and Ember.js, which incorporate additional components and functionalities to ease the development process, Facebook’s React is a front-end library that makes it easy for customers to develop user interfaces quickly and effectively without making it very difficult. Thanks to its simple and minimalist design, even novice front-end programmers can add functionality such as AJAX changes or add-ons without much hassle.

#2 Increased productivity 

Effortlessly getting things done on time matters. This is especially important for startups, who need to launch their products and test them on the market as quickly as possible, which is why everyone is looking for ways to make it easier on themselves. React has a considerable advantage in this respect since it allows you to create reusable code fragments called components.

#3 Allows for creating fast, high-performance, scalable apps

One of the most important features of React is its virtual DOM.

The virtual DOM is a dummy copy of the real DOM and helps to keep track of whether (and which) parts of your website need to change and how this particular set-up has to be displayed. This way, only the part that’s been coded changes, whereas the rest remains intact. In terms of being able to offer instant access, React allows users to browse instantaneously.

#4 SEO-friendly 

Your site has many components, and when it comes to your website’s content and structure being assessed so you can be ranked by search engines, SEO is very important!

React is thorough in addressing all of these different parts. Server-side rendering (SSR), which is the method used with React whenever rendering of your site occurs, makes sure that each page or element of your site is guaranteed to be completely rendered on the server before sending out the content for indexing by various search engines, giving you more accurate search engine results.

#5 Promotes high-quality code 

React allows developers to create reusable components. This results in fewer bugs and improves code stability. The possibility to reuse components also cuts down the time needed for app testing. Once unit tests have proved a certain component to work without crashing, it can be reused in other parts of the app with no additional testing.

#6 Easy formatting 

The majority of reacting developers prefer to use JSX, a syntax extension for JavaScript. JSX makes it easier to alter the DOM by allowing developers to create JavaScript objects with HTML-like syntax that is more readable. This way the code is written slicker making React more user-friendly. An element rewritten in JSX may look something like this:

const Component1 = () => (

<h2 className="greeting">Hello, world!</h2>

);

Same element written in pure JavaScript will look something like this:

const Component2 = () => {

return React.createElement(

"h2",

{ className: "greeting" },

"Hello, world!"

);

};

This is a simple example, but the same rules apply when you have lots of components nested within one another. The code can get even more tedious to read.

Wrapping up

The benefits of React have helped it earn a reputation as one of the most powerful front-end frameworks for web application development. Below is a list of popular websites that use React.

Famous websites built with React

#1 Facebook

Facebook is a social network that was created for Harvard students. It has since grown to be the most popular of its kind. Facebook released the React library, which makes software engineers wonder why they ever bothered with anything else at all. Since React is so incredibly easy to use, Facebook has made it part of every product it creates.

Using React helps Facebook create responsive user interfaces so their users can enjoy high-powered websites and receive unparalleled customer service experienced by billions of users worldwide daily!

As of 30 September 2019, Facebook had 2.45 billion monthly active users and this number continues to increase by 8% every year. According to data from the Pew Research Center, 74% of Facebook users visit Facebook regularly.

The Facebook team puts a lot of effort into growing React and provides tons of helpful information for new developers who want to get started with it.

#2 Instagram

An app created in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram is a social network where users share pictures and videos of different scenes from their own lives. In 2012, Instagram was purchased by Facebook for 1 billion dollars. They decided there were two steps to get more attention from the internet: developing a web application and creating an Android version of the app.

As React proved its worth for Facebook, the company used it for the Instagram web application. According to internal Instagram statistics, there were over one billion monthly active users on Instagram as of June 2018.

This means that React has proven itself worthy for just one startup but many companies have found that it's powerfully versatile too!

#3 Netflix

Netflix is a streaming service that allows users to watch online TV, movies, documentaries and other video content. In 2018, Netflix accounted for 15% of the total downstream traffic globally.

As of 2019, Netflix has more than 167 million subscribers. A streaming giant like Netflix must maintain high product performance as this is one of the most critical challenges of a provider like them.

In 2015, Netflix wanted to modernize its TV user interface. To achieve the company's goals, they decided to use more advanced tools and techniques as React which helped improve performance as well as upgrade the UI.

#4 Uber 

Uber launched in 2009 as a peer-to-peer ridesharing application for the iPhone. It has since expanded to offer services including food delivery, grocery delivery, bike-sharing, bus service, pooling services and other transportation services.

As of 2018, it operates in 88% of markets globally with several billion-dollar investments from prominent technology players. Uber is also responsible for the development of the open-source React framework which helps engineers build site features rapidly.

One of Uber’s main goals is to provide seamless service across multiple devices without extended load times or dropped connections -- all while maximizing profit by lowering costs and reducing prices.

#5 The New York Times

The New York Times is among the leading newspapers around the globe.

In 2017, the newspaper set out to refresh its online presence and adopt a new interface to help promote a better browsing experience for users. React was one of the key technologies used to develop this new design.

As of 2018, The New York Times boasts more than 3.8 million subscribers who have signed up for their premium paid service to access readers' favourite publications from its growing archive.

#6 Reddit 

Reddit is like a social network, but it includes additional functionality related to content sharing (such as images, videos, and more). Users can vote on whether or not they agree with the content that has been posted in any given Subreddit. The website was founded in 2005 by former roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian when they were in college at the University of Virginia.

Reddit became so popular that in November 2017 its users numbered over 430 million each month! To create this seamless user experience, Reddit relies on React content sharing software.

#7 Airbnb

Airbnb is an online community marketplace for people looking to rent out their homes. Airbnb claims to have registered over half a billion guests since its launch and is accessible in more than 220 countries.

Since 2015, the engineers at Airbnb have been using React for web application development. To make React even better, they’ve created additional tools (like Enzyme) that are built around React.

The open-source community has access to these tools as well, increasing popularity among developers who might not be savvy with creating powerful testing suites on their own or who appreciate having an established workflow for their projects so they don't continually waste time on reinventing the wheel!

#8 Salesforce

Salesforce is a customer relationship management system with a service-oriented architecture (SOA). It allows businesses to connect with their customers, partners, and prospects.

In 2019, more than 150,000 companies were using Salesforce to manage their businesses.

The Salesforce team uses the React library along with the Visualforce framework to speed up the complex rendering process for Visualforce pages. The Visualforce framework is part of Salesforce’s Force.com platform as a service (PaaS). Salesforce engineers use React along with the Visualforce framework to improve the performance of their products.

#9 Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud storage service that helps save and transfer data online.

They pride themselves on their elegant interface, intuitive controls, and the ability to view the content from any device with an internet connection. In 2019 alone they have been able to reach nearly 600 million users worldwide across 180 countries. Around 14 million of those users were premium subscribers who receive special extra benefits for a small monthly fee.

The Dropbox engineering team benefit from reusable React components. These components help with accessibility for their dropdown menus and tree views among other things – as they can be implemented in different parts of the website interface – which helps expedite development time as opposed to having to reinvent the wheel for each required component!

#10 CNN

CNN is a news organization that reaches millions of people all over the globe.

In October 2019, CNN Digital had more than 200 million monthly subscribers.

CNN's website uses React combined with other bleeding-edge technologies to provide breaking news details and a superior UX to its readers.

Conclusion 

In this article, we talked about the many benefits of React and why so many people have started using it to build their websites. Now it’s your turn to decide whether React is worth your attention. For those of you who have been thinking about getting started with React, now is as good a time as any!